Stale Tea
by Streetlight Eyes
Summary: Zuko didn't know if he should expect a corpse or a fugitive when he sent Jun after Azula, and he got something in between. Found on the verge of death and even further consumed by her broken psyche, Azula asks for only one thing when she wakes. Well, one person. Tyzula, MaiJun, Zuki.
1. Wine and Vinegar & Azula's Demand

**Welcome **to my new Tyzula. It was a spin-off of my first Tyzula, but that was a dead end and I abandoned the fic because I lost inspiration, but now it's a unique plot that involves after _The Search _speculation and some twists. It will _not _be abandoned again, I swear.

* * *

**Prologue: Wine and Vinegar**

* * *

Mai paced back and forth, picking at her teeth with a blade Zuko would never put in his mouth. The metal glittered in the firelight and stung against her tongue, but the taste was soothing to Mai. Azula once joked that Mai must have been given razors to suck on instead of pacifiers as an infant.

"You... want me to find Azula?" Mai asked for the thousandth time. Zuko was quite unsure how he could be any clearer about the matter.

"I know you're probably not in the mood to do me any favors, but no one else is getting any results," Zuko replied in frustration, grimacing slightly after he was finished speaking. Mai just crossed her arms and sighed.

"I do want to help you. I _do_," Mai reluctantly admitted, although she had no idea where to even _start _searching for the princess.

It had been almost a year since Azula was last seen, and the bounty on her head was so large that it was getting implausible that she would ever be found. Mai knew her, knew that she could outwit most, which was why Mai was certain that Zuko called her here. She could think like Azula, which no one else could.

Azula was, by most, presumed dead. But that perturbed Mai even more than it did Zuko and Ty Lee. The idea of Azula decomposing in some forest was _wrong_. She was supposed to have a grand finale, to go out with fireworks blazing.

Mai's only hope was that Azula would rely on her allies, allies who had no need for money. Less of a need for money than even Mai.

"I'm paying you pretty well," Zuko said earnestly and Mai rolled her eyes.

"I'm not even sure I know how our currency works. I don't need money," Mai replied, staring at her feet.

And then an unfamiliar female voice interjected, "Does that mean I can have her share too?"

A woman walked in, having been listening from the hallway. It made Mai feel uncomfortable and exposed, but she remained stoic. The woman was a little older than Mai, by a few years at least, and the kind of hot that made people as afraid as they were aroused.

"Is this your new girlfriend? You sure went through that Kyoshi girl fast," Mai inquired scathingly and the woman laughed at the notion in an amused, confident, almost cruel cackle. Mai decided she did not hate the stranger, at least yet. "Then who is she?"

"She's," Zuko began slowly, looking uncomfortable. Mai already did not like where this was going. "Well, she's really good at finding people."

"I'm not _good _at finding people," the woman snapped back in a breathy voice. "I'm _the best _at finding people. Honestly, sweetheart, you're only going to slow me down."

Mai cocked an eyebrow and Jun was relatively impressed by her lack of emotion. "I won't slow you down," was all she said, and beneath her words lurked the desire to explain her military credentials. But Mai was smart enough not to justify herself; it would make her look weak.

"Right," Zuko interrupted, not liking the slight glint of a predator at hunt in Mai's amber eyes, or the mocking twist of Jun's stained lips. "So, Jun is good at finding people. But we need you once Azula is actually found. You're..."

"An expert on her," Mai sighed, not even having the willpower to roll her eyes. It was simply presumed that she knew everything about Azula and could so easily catch her and coerce her to come home.

Zuko grimaced and Mai sighed again. The Fire Lord quickly added, "I think you have the best chance of anyone of getting her to come home."

Mai looked him up and down and supposed he had a point. Not that she and Azula had gotten along well since the Boiling Rock, but Mai knew more about Azula than anyone else, and probably would be able to think of _some _way to get her to cooperate. Possibly. There was a significant chance that Azula had only become more unstable, which Mai was not thrilled about experiencing firsthand.

"I'll do it," Mai sighed and Zuko smiled hopefully.

* * *

"I'm Jun," the girl said and Mai's eyes flickered up and down her body. "You are...?"

"Mai," she replied and said no more as she guided the bounty hunter to Azula's bedroom. It was locked and the door was dusty; Zuko clearly had no desire to go inside. Probably because the memories hurt him.

They walked inside and had their nostrils immediately assaulted by the must and age. Mai felt a twisting in her gut about how she also did not want to be in here. The memories were nasty, more nasty than she wanted to think about.

"What does your Shirshu need?" Mai inquired, walking around the room and hating how perfectly clean it was, save for the dust that settled on everything. Azula had servants and slaves that cleaned up after her, but usually at least something was slightly askew, or the window was open. She always slept with the window open.

"Anything will work. I'm only surprised Zuko didn't ask me sooner. How long has she been missing, anyway?"

Mai pursed her lips and realized she was not instantly certain. "Almost a year," she replied, remembering when Zuko returned from Hira'a and Mai found out through Ty Lee that Azula did not come back with him. Because he was too afraid to tell her, or some bullshit like that.

"Can you find her if she's dead?" Mai knew she had to ask.

"Yup. Even if she's buried," Jun replied as she opened Azula's dresser.

"Can you find her if she's in the Spirit World?" Mai asked and Jun chewed on her lip for a moment before shaking her head.

Mai supposed that was problematic. The most likely place that Azula would wind up would be there, if she was alive. She disappeared without a trace and Mai just... figured. Or maybe she was being too hopeful.

"So why didn't he ask you earlier?" Mai inquired as Jun picked up Azula's bathrobe and deemed it worthy of Nyla.

"It's on me, I guess. I decided to retire after the war and given my, hm, amount of enemies, I decided to disappear for a while. But the reward for that princess is the best I've been offered," Jun replied as she waved for Mai to follow her. "I would be a lunatic to turn that down."

"Hm," was all Mai could say as she came across a switchblade. A birthday gift. Mai averted her eyes and walked after Jun.

She just hoped they would not find a corpse.

* * *

Mai took Jun to her apartment before they planned to leave town. She had to grab an address book, had to make sure they stopped at anywhere that could have been of use to the New Ozai Society. Sure Mai knew this chick was the best bounty hunter in the world, but Mai had more faith in herself than a stranger.

"So you and the Fire Lord, huh?" Jun inquired as they settled down in Mai's apartment. "Don't take this as too much of a compliment but you're even more out of his league than the Water Tribe girl."

Mai just shrugged. "We were engaged as kids," she admitted and Jun was surprised that she replied honestly; it knocked off a point in the score Jun was keeping on whether she would try to score with Mai or not. "My parents were horrible people."

"My parents weren't around to hold me back," Jun said with a shrug and Mai did not ask. The usual reason Earth Kingdom parents were not around was because of the Fire Nation, and Mai refused to be apologetic, nor accept guilt by association. "So, you brought me here why? We should get on her trail."

"I need my contact book if... if she isn't dead or in the Spirit World, then there are a handful of people who she might have gone to or might have an idea where she would go," Mai replied dryly as she walked to her room and reluctantly left Jun in the living room. She did not trust the bounty hunter as far as she could throw her, but she was glad to have a Shirshu on her side.

Mai was back after a long two minutes, and she and Jun were on their way.

* * *

Outside of town, Mai shivered slightly in the rain, as Jun just let it drip over her body.

"I don't like animals that move," Mai sighed, narrowing her eyes at the Shirshu as Jun gestured for her to get on. "I hate riding animals that move. A mongoose dragon is bad enough, and at least they don't have fur."

Jun cocked an eyebrow. "You're a constant downer, huh?"

"Something like that," Mai replied and Jun smirked.

"Get on, sweetheart. I'll hold you if you're too scared," Jun said and the mocking tone got far too far under Mai's skin.

"You call me sweetheart one more time, you're going to know what it feels like to get your throat slit and your tongue pulled out through the gushing wound," Mai said dryly, her face not even moving at the violent threat.

Jun chuckled. She liked this girl. Zuko was definitely several steps below her on the ladder of romantic equality. She was hotter than him, wittier, and a good deal smarter.

"Alright, kitten," Jun replied with a small smirk. Mai was immovable. "So kitten it is?"

Mai still did not move her face. "I'll get on the fucking fur monster."

* * *

It took four days to reach Kaoda, the city that Nyla had the most desire to get to. Jun bit her lip as she stopped there.

"She was here recently," Jun replied and Mai's eyes flashed slightly. It was the first emotion she had shown for the entire journey, even in their hotel stays.

"How recently?" Mai demanded, realizing that they were finally not on the path Azula took on her way to find her mother.

"Couple of weeks," Jun said with a shrug. "Let's shack up."

Mai sighed and slid down from the Shirshu, trying to rub its scent off of her clothes futilely. She decided she would spend a _very _long day at a spa as soon as she got back to Caldera. The trip had been painful, beyond painful.

And Mai was plagued with nightmares, more than usual. She woke up drenched in cold sweat and was grateful she was good at hiding her pain or weakness. Particularly from Jun, whom Mai was not appreciative of.

They found a hotel and Mai knew she needed to look through the address book. This was a popular stop for rich vacationers in hotter months, the opposite of Ember Island. Azula could have gotten help here easily, bounty on her head or not.

The New Ozai Society consisted of people with too much money to count, whom would rather have a political advantage over the reward Zuko posted, or the favor of their new Fire Lord. Therefore, Azula would go directly to them if she had her wits about her.

She may have been consumed by mental illness, but she could still connive. Mai was more aware of that than she would have liked to be.

* * *

The hotel room smelled of old cleaning supplies and strange oils. It was the shoddiest place in town because when Mai offered to stay somewhere nice, Jun looked at her as if she was insane and said that they had to stay somewhere where they would not be noticed.

"There's one bed," Mai said sharply.

"Maybe that's why I got this room," Jun said breathily, layering on the sex in her tone. "It was all they had left. It's apparently vacation season for you rich people."

It made Jun somewhat sick. Oh, she appreciated the perks of wealth; that was why she pursued it. But she was not a huge fan of the Fire Nation citizens buying yearly vacations with the blood of Earth Kingdom children.

"I'm going to go find my dad's friend and interrogate him. You stay here," Mai ordered and Jun opened her mouth to protest before changing her mind.

"I'm tired anyway," she replied, lying down on the bed.

Mai left and went to track down Chan. It felt strange, being so close to finding Azula. But that was before she remembered that Azula was presumed dead by everyone but Zuko. Mai thought so too. She tried to get over it, but it haunted her occasionally.

She blinked for a long time, reminded her that she did not care, she _could not _care if Azula lived or died. Why would she?

* * *

Suki walked into Zuko's bedroom, lacking her make-up, save for the fact that her lips were permanently stained light red. She was in the Fire Nation visiting, knowing that Zuko had at last tracked down Jun and was now hoping he would find Azula. She thought she needed him more than usual.

Zuko felt that sensation of colliding flames in his chest as he saw her.

The sparks began to fly shortly after he returned home. The tension snapped, eventually, when she broke up with Sokka. One thing led to another, and he had never forgotten her kneeling, her hands on his, their skin together. The first time he ever considered a woman other than Mai.

"If Jun doesn't find her... I don't think anybody can," Zuko admitted as she slipped into the sheets beside him.

Suki swallowed. Zuko had been looking for Jun within two weeks, after he realized Azula was not coming home on her own. It took too long to find her, and he was beginning to think that something had happened. Zuko promised he would redeem her, he promised he would help her because she needed him.

He would do anything for her, and he always would have, no matter how much they fought.

"I don't want to be the one to say this," Suki whispered, taking Zuko's hand in hers. She enjoyed his warmth against her cold hands, "but please don't get your hopes up. It's been a year. She... maybe if she were herself I would say she went into hiding. But she isn't."

Zuko just looked at her. Their first fight was over Azula, and he decided that he would hold his tongue about the subject for her sake. Zuko loved them both, and Azula had hurt Suki in disgusting, disgusting ways.

He did not think she wanted Azula to come home.

* * *

Mai did not find General Chan, her father's trusted friend, but she found something better. After breaking into his house, of course. A letter, a letter written about a possible discovery of Azula. It was mostly in code that Mai did not have the skills nor energy to break, but it was the best lead yet.

So the New Ozai Society did want her. Of course they did.

"Give this to Nyla," Mai ordered as she returned to the hotel, trying to ignore the fact that Jun had fallen asleep in her underwear.

"Is it hers?" Jun asked, reaching for it.

"No. But I... just do it," Mai said sharply and Jun just shrugged and nodded.

They were probably a terrible pair, given that neither of them gave a half a fuck about anything. But it was somewhat refreshing for Mai. Her old friends she tried to reconnect with all made her slightly sick.

The next day, they were on their way.

And that day, they found something utterly disgusting.

That home was odd, to say the least. It was filled with odd Spirit World relics and artifacts, things that Mai and Jun had never encountered, but knew were not the type of thing that normal, not-creepy people had in their homes. Their weapons never left their sweaty palms as they walked around and saw that multiple people were living here, but no one was there right now, or at least it seemed.

The masks were only the _second _creepiest thing. And the crazy paintings of what could only be nightmarish demons, and twisted items. One painting drew Mai in particular; it looked like the Tree of Life, a symbol many people had in their homes, especially those who wanted children or had relatives away at war. But it was gnarled and the landscape around it shady and disgusting.

Mai took it and Jun smirked at her.

"Stealing, are we?" she asked mockingly.

"Taking evidence," Mai said before striding into the more lived in section of the house. They passed multiple symbols of the New Ozai Society, and things Mai recognized as belonging to those jerks. Yes, this clearly was some creepy operation of those rich freaks who wanted to kill Zuko.

"Well, I'd say go into the weird Spirit World obsessed serial killer basement now?" Jun suggested as she pointed at the locked door that could only lead down. Mai could feel a _chill _coming from it that made her skin prickle, but she was not going to let this woman think she was scared.

"Yeah." Mai went first, even though she wanted to shove Jun down. She picked the lock with her knife and opened the door before walking down the creaking stairs and hoping no one heard her.

At the bottom it was revealed to clearly be home of prisoners. Once, it looked like a room where people were entertained at parties, judging by the furniture that was stacked against the walls and gathering dust. But now there were shackles, and the metallic stench of blood. Multiple prisoners. At least six or seven of very similar size, judging by the positioning of all of the restraints.

Empty ones, at that.

"This was deserted recently," Jun remarked as she gestured to burned things. "They took the prisoners and whatever they had. They got what they were looking for already."

Jun sighed and Mai froze as she looked for any answer, anyone familiar she could recognize, and then they heard someone very alive.

And Mai nearly threw up because she recognized the voice.

* * *

**Chapter One: Azula's Demand**

* * *

Days later, Mai lingered over Azula's bedside, unsure what she was supposed to do. She looked at the princess and the bandages wrapped around her, how her body seemed so weak and fragile. While Azula fought in her past, she glistened like the sun and transcended being mortal.

_But _not anymore. Mai did not like seeing her like that, but Zuko was even worse off. Mai was absolutely clueless as to if she should console him or leave him with his sister in peace. She just occasionally glanced up to see if he was doing alright.

Zuko had vomited when Mai and Jun arrived frantically, having gone at a pace Mai did not think the terrifying Shirshu could go at. Azula was between them, barely recognizable as Azula, but definitely her. Both Mai and Nyla confirmed it.

They found her in a basement. A damp, cement basement, bleeding and tortured.

Mai was trying to hide her fear, the knots in her stomach, as Jun was also pretending to give zero fucks. Jun was not the kind of person who got attached to any of her jobs, and she had seen violence, but that was... sick.

They had fallen into a rhythm as the best doctors cared for Azula and Suki tried to get into contact with Aang and Katara. Zuko did not leave Azula's side, and Mai could not bring herself to do it either. Jun was still in town; she felt oddly as if her work was not done until her bounty was delivered alive. She cared about money, but she also cared about doing her job right. Zuko got Mai glasses of water, Mai tried to keep him from completely breaking down... it was working.

"You don't have to be here," Zuko said softly, as the sun set on the second day of Azula's unconsciousness. "She's not your responsibility."

Mai pursed her lips and studied her sharp nails, which as an adult she painted blood red instead of the adolescent hue of black.

"She's done a lot of awful things, but she's still my friend. I don't think I could live with myself if I wasn't here," Mai admitted, rubbing her neck and trying to avoid Zuko's deep, golden stare.

The door opened and Mai and Zuko both jumped in shock. Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes at the curvaceous woman garbed in dark colors, looking between the Fire Lord and his ex girlfriend expectantly.

"I don't want to be the one to point this out when she's in such critical condition," Jun said casually, although her tone was devoid of any sympathy at all. "_But _when exactly am I getting paid for saving this girl? Someone hit her through the face and _buried _her halfway before I caught her."

"I'm not entirely sure _you _didn't hit her through the face and bury her," Zuko grumbled in frustration and Mai squinted at him, wondering what exactly about Jun made him so bristly.

Mai looked Jun up and down and there was a subtle shift in the bounty hunter's hips that Zuko could not help but notice. It was, he realized in a tachycardia ridden moment, the subtle motion a woman's body made when she was being checked out and she _wanted _to be checked out.

Zuko just focused his attention entirely on Azula. He walked to the bed as Mai decided to _fuck _Jun the Bounty Hunter with her amber eyes, the amber eyes that used to focus so intently on him, and made sure the bandages around his sister were fresh.

The Fire Lord was gently touching her lips to see if she needed more water when suddenly teeth clamped down on his hand. He yelped in pain and Jun and Mai were ripped from an overtly flirtatious conversation, eyes lighting up.

"Azula! Azula, let go! I'm not ─ _yowch_ ─ I'm not trying to hurt you!" Zuko screamed and Mai lunged to his side, prying Azula's face away from his hand as Jun cackled in amusement. Azula looked Mai directly in the eyes, and then her face was contorted with the panic of a caged tiger-monkey.

"Ty Lee," was not the first word Mai was expecting out of Azula's lips.

"No... I'm Mai..." Mai said quietly, not putting it past her psyche to have become more destroyed than her body. Azula was impenetrable physically; her lying alive in this bed after what happened to her was a testament to that. But she cracked from the inside out, her own, brilliant mind turning against her with a vengeance.

"I _know _you're Mai," Azula spat and Mai swallowed her angry words. "I want Ty Lee. Where is she? Bring her to me."

Mai cleared her throat awkwardly and looked between Jun and Zuko. The Fire Lord was barely breathing as he stared at his sister coming back to life, and he only just started to fathom that she was home again, and that perhaps maybe she could be redeemed or helped.

"I'll write a letter to her," Mai said calmly and Azula met her gaze. Slowly, the princess nodded. "What happened to you? We found you half dead."

"I don't know," Azula murmured, looking at them all. Her heart was racing and Mai could feel her pulse on her wrist, wildly out of control. The princess whimpered and Zuko and Mai both knew that the pain must have been excruciating; Azula did not show pain. "I don't know what's going on and I..."

"Do you want something for the pain?" Mai asked as Zuko opened his mouth to speak.

Azula glanced at them, having no desire to be drugged while they were around her. She did not trust any of them for a split second, and her life as a fugitive in the countryside had been something near torture.

_Trust is for fools. _Those words were familiar and associated with her bitter memories of betrayal at the Boiling Rock, but they seemed so much more like a dream than reality. She wanted to escape; her gaze flicked over to the window.

But then her broken rib rubbed against her and she winced. "Yes. And _quickly_."

Zuko hoped that Azula ordering Mai around was a sign that she was not entirely gone. Mai left, came back, and soon, Azula was in a drug induced slumber.

"I guess I'll write that letter," Mai sighed. "You pay Jun."

The Fire Lord's right eyebrow shot up at that order, and the bounty hunter smirked.

"I like her," Jun remarked. "So much better than that Water Tribe girl. Though... you're not exactly a catch."

"And you are?" Zuko snarled, surprised at his own vehemence. He was dating Suki and he did _not _understand why he was so angry at Jun checking out Mai's tits. Mai was a grown woman who could date whoever she wanted, just like Zuko could.

"I think I am," Jun replied with a shrug. "So, my fee?"

* * *

Two weeks later, Azula was still receiving medical attention for whatever happened to her. The doctor murmured to Zuko one night that if she were not a princess, they would've just gotten a pyre. It was a wonder that she was not dead, in their eyes.

Dry lightning crashed in the night. It felt ominous, or significant, or something to Ty Lee. She was not sure what, but the sight of it cracking across the sky without rain felt significant. The stars were blacked out by smog. Ty Lee was used to being able to see the strands of stardust and every constellation on Kyoshi Island, but the sky was very dark in Caldera.

She walked back into the palace, taking another deep breath. It was a difficult moment. Far, far too difficult. Azula was here. And Azula was hurt. She was unconscious, drugged by Zuko. They found her half dead, which was not how Ty Lee wanted her to be found. Or maybe Ty Lee did _not _want her to be found.

No, no, Ty Lee was glad Azula was home. Whether Azula would be glad about being home was another matter entirely. Ty Lee walked to Zuko, who had not left the bedside of Azula for the entire day.

"I'm glad you came," Zuko said and Ty Lee had no immediate response. She still felt slightly in a daze. "I know things weren't, uh, so great last time you saw her. But she'll be happy to see you."

"I find that hard to believe," Ty Lee said quietly and Zuko cleared his throat. "But I couldn't _not _come."

She had been waiting for this letter. Deep down, she knew it would never come. But, lo and behold, it did. And she was the first person Zuko told, before Ursa or Ozai or Mai. As if it would do something, as if it would matter. Ty Lee did not know what to think and she hated it. Not thinking was always easier.

"Can you stay with her? I'm... I need a break," Zuko suggested and Ty Lee nodded sharply, like a little bird. Fire Lord Zuko smiled faintly at her, though the movement of his muscles was forced, and headed to the bathroom.

Ty Lee sat down on the mattress. It creaked slightly as she gazed at Azula for a moment. She looked very peaceful. Ty Lee did not think she had ever seen Azula sleep so peacefully. And for a moment Azula looked like a corpse to her and her heart leapt with panic.

But she did not break her stare. "You hate me. I know you hate me. But I missed you."

Of course Azula could not hear. She was in a drug induced slumber, and she probably would not be listening to Ty Lee even if she were awake.

Agni, she looked terrible. Needless to say, despite how powerful you are in combat and sharp your tongue is, when you don't know how to comb your own hair, the outside world is not the place for you. And Azula was not ready for life on her own or life as a fugitive.

Nobody knew what happened. They just knew they found her. And she was alive.

Azula's eyes flickered open and Ty Lee momentarily panicked. The princess squinted it at her for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" Azula asked dizzily and Ty Lee was not sure Azula even knew what 'here' was. "I missed you." Evidently she was wacked out and dazed, because last they spoke they were far off from the teenagers in adolescent love they once were.

But Ty Lee ignored her morality and better judgment, leaned forward, and kissed Azula on the lips.

It felt right.

* * *

**tbc...**


	2. Memory Pain

**Chapter Two: Memory Pain**

* * *

Azula was somewhat aware of the bandages on her body, of the extreme soreness in her bones. Her memories of how she had gotten into this situation were very fuzzy, and she was unsure what to make of it. The nausea set in, and her breathing was labored and pained from her broken ribs.

She had the taste of another's lips on hers, and they tasted of _paint_ for some reason. It did not make sense as she tried to stir, tried to move her body, and found herself too sore and her eyelids too heavy to open again.

And, therefore, she remained quiet and tried to fall back to sleep, but then her mind decided to slip into memories instead of cold slumber.

_Princess Azula was twelve and somewhat awkward and incredibly unsure of the body she was growing into and the feelings that come with it, but that does not prevent her from training day and night. She was sparring, breathing in the stench of smoke and sweat as she fought, and she wound up taking a nasty, nasty fall after trying to mount a wall improperly._

_After that, she, every single day for weeks, was immensely frustrated every time she could not perform, and constantly ended up sitting on the sidelines of the beautiful complex and nursing a water-skin. It was on the second week of that nonsense as Azula was half changed in the dressing room, when someone walked in._

_The princess paid it very little mind until suddenly arms were wrapped tightly around her and all she could smell was Ty Lee's strong, floral perfume._

_"Hi. I came to visit and I brought you a bo─half a box of cookies. Half intentionally," Ty Lee says as she rubbed he soft face in search of crumbs, as if it were not evidently obvious to Azula that she had eaten them all._

_"You're just in time," Azula said coolly and Ty Lee tilted her head to the side with an attentive expression. "Help me get out of these clothes. The bandages make it _impossible_."_

_Ty Lee just smiled as she carefully set down the thick red paper box, and she reached forward as gently as she could towards Azula's clothes. It felt... awkward, strangely. It would not have a year ago, when they were children and things were less... tense._

_Azula allowed her to remove her fitted training clothes, leaving only the wrappings on her chest and hips, and Ty Lee pretended it was not making her feel confusing things. _

_"This bandage is all... rough," Ty Lee murmured as she touched it, causing Azula to choke back a wince. "Do you have any extras? I'll fix you up!"_

_While Azula was not keen on the idea of her less-than-brilliant friend playing healer, she did not think she can do too much damage with a roll of bandages. And so, there was a dressing of Azula's wound that was even tense and rather heated for the usually oblivious princess. _

_Ty Lee's finger slipped and ferociously slammed into a bruise and she immediately recoiled in terror, but Azula just gasped in and rubbed her lips together to contain the whimper threatening to escape._

_"I'm so sorry! I'll, uh..." Ty Lee gulped and then carefully adjusted the last shreds of the bandage. And then, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping that she did not miss, she gently kissed Azula's damaged shoulder._

_It brought a flush to the princess's cheeks that she was completely ashamed to experience._

_But... it felt nice too, she supposed. _

Ty Lee jolted to awareness as Azula stirred slightly with the detached memories drifting through her. Zuko still was not back, and Mai and that scary looking girl were definitely elsewhere. And Ty Lee looked at Azula and thought about how everything had all gone wrong.

So wrong. And then Azula told Ty Lee that she _missed her_, which Ty Lee had never thought she would hear, even before the Boiling Rock or their parting terms... or anything in between, for that matter. Their relationship was never very pleasant.

_'I missed you,' _though, she had said. Azula never told Ty Lee she loved her and that was somehow okay. It was not a _real _relationship no matter how much Azula _acted_ like it. There were things that should be said before 'I love you' anyway. And Azula said all of them, whether she thought of it that way or not.

The first was, 'It made me think of you' or something of the variation. That, in Ty Lee's mind, implied enough knowledge about a person to associate them with other things, and also the fact that they thought about you when you had your shirt on or were not present.

And it was fairly unlike Azula to care at all about anyone but herself.

_It was an incredibly expensive gift. But Ty Lee was more than used to incredibly expensive gifts. She got them for every occasion, being born of wealth in Caldera, despite being interchangeable and overshadowed as a youth. But it was the concept that the gift was from _Azula_ that had actually mattered._

_Ty Lee did not think there was a such thing as Azula thinking of others, or even purchasing a birthday gift for someone. It was evident that she had other people do that for her, like everything else in her life._

_"It made me think of you," Azula purred casually, and Ty Lee did not think she was lying._

_It was a pink necklace, clunky, and Ty Lee did not know the words to say in response._

The second was, 'I like spending time with you' or... something somewhat similar. Close enough, definitely. Close enough.

_"You're not a complete waste of time to be with," Azula said calmly, and Ty Lee was certain that was because she was half asleep. Their skin brushed together and maybe there was tension, or maybe not._

_But Ty Lee took that as the princess actually liking her, as much as she tried to keep spikes around herself._

The third was, 'We can do your thing instead' even if they, of course, wound up doing Azula's thing. But it _was _the thought that counted, and the fact that she said it instead of just giving Ty Lee an order had to mean _something_, right?

_"If you're so uncomfortable with my speechwriting, we can do your thing instead," Azula said breathily and Ty Lee thought she was _almost _flirtatious. _

_And Ty Lee's thing, was, of course, making out instead of this dull conquering Ba Sing Se celebrations. She crawled to Azula, trying to keep her hair from sticking to her mouth, and situated herself quite comfortably on the princess's lap._

_Their lips crashed together and the heat was vibrant, bold and overpowering. Until Azula pulled away and Ty Lee blinked in confusion, hoping she had not upset her._

_"I really do need to finish this speech..."_

The fourth was, 'Are you okay?' Which, that one was pretty dead on, in Ty Lee's mind.

_Ty Lee was humiliated beyond humiliated. She had shameful tears pouring from her eyes as she hid behind the trees outside of the school, too afraid to face anyone. It was horrible and she did not know what to do. She had no idea where the rumors came from or why everyone suddenly was so cruel to her, but it was killing her inside._

_Someone approached and she figured it would be another girl there to tease her._

_"Are you okay?" asked the last voice Ty Lee could imagine saying those words._

_Azula. They became friends after that day._

The final was, 'I want you' which Ty Lee actually sometimes preferred over 'I love you'.

_"I'm not jealous," Azula said airily, wrapping her robe tightly around herself._

_She smelled permanently of beach and her hair was stained with sand. It felt starchy and uncomfortable and she was sure it would terrify servants as soon as she returned. Ty Lee was toying with seashells she collected and looking genuinely miserable. The bonfire of madness was enlightening, but Ty Lee whining about feeling so bad for hurting Azula's feelings was far worse._

_"You just, you said we... we were just friends so many times," Ty Lee chimed again and Azula fought the urge to throttle her._

_"I know what I said. And I meant it. If you think we would be better off with other people..." Azula waved her hand dismissively and crawled into her bed. Ty Lee caught a glimpse of what was beneath her robe, realized the princess was naked, realized she wanted her desperately, and realized she spent the earlier part of the night trying to get Azula a date other than her._

_"I really like you, Azula," Ty Lee murmured, slipping under her own blankets. "A lot."_

_"Well, you certainly show it by running around with any boy who looks at your tits," Azula said in a silken tone and Ty Lee buried her face in her pillow._

_"You felt bad when you laughed at me," Ty Lee stated, almost defensively._

_Azula yawned in response. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It isn't necessarily for you to decide."_

_They were silent for some time. Ty Lee worried that their relationship was irreparable. She was keeping her thoughts positive about this vacation, and she had to admit the fire was cathartic. But losing Azula was not worth any of that._

_Ty Lee closed her eyes and woke up in the middle of the night. Ugh. She was not going to be able to sleep. Her dreams were of Azula, dreams she should not be having about a princess. Azula was asleep across the room in her bed and Ty Lee gazed at her with a peculiar longing._

_She crept into Azula's bed, hoping she would not get her face burned off, and lay down beside Azula. The princess opened her eyes, baffled, and studied Ty Lee closely._

_"Did you have a nightmare?" Azula remarked with a small, mocking smirk. Ty Lee slipped under the blankets and Azula did not tell her to go away, although she knew she should._

_"Azula," Ty Lee whispered, her heart in her throat. "Men were never enough for me."_

_She kissed the princess on the lips. Azula resented to admit how much she liked it. And loathed that she could not prove that she could get someone other than Ty Lee to go out with her. The night was a mess, and this damp kiss is messier._

_And Ty Lee added, before diving into another kiss, "You're the only thing that will ever satisfy me."_

_Azula smirked as Ty Lee kissed her again, and trailed her lips down Azula's neck. The princess's golden eyes closed for a moment in either victory or bliss; she was not sure which. As Ty Lee was making remarkably quick work of the robe wrapped around Azula's body, and kissed her all over, feverish burning._

_Melodic moans from the princess, and the satisfaction of reigning victorious._

_No one will ever be enough for Ty Lee but Azula._

_As the sex came to a slow, lingering end, Azula admitted, "I want you."_

_And Ty Lee had never felt so happy._

And now, it was 'I miss you'. Perhaps she was drugged out of her mind and Ty Lee did not think she even was sure where she was. But she said she missed Ty Lee, and that must have been true at some point.

Azula was knocked out as soon as she kissed a very confused Ty Lee. She just collapsed, either from the pain or the medication or some kind of exhaustion. Ty Lee slowly stood, swallowing and confused beyond belief.

Ty Lee touched her own coral lips and gazed intently down at Azula. She tasted of blood, not cherries. And Ty Lee was reminded yet again of how Mai and Jun described how they found Azula. It was disturbing, much more disturbing than anything Ty Lee had imagined or worried about after Zuko informed her that Azula was gone.

The Kyoshi Warrior quietly waited at Azula's side, wondering where she was in her head, as she often did. And then she could not help but wonder if Azula ever thought about those small, private milestones in their joke of a relationship.

She kept her lips closed and did not leave Azula's side.

* * *

Two hours later, Azula was at last, conscious, and in excruciating pain. Zuko paced impatiently, waiting for her to finish her tea so that he could ask her how she ended up as one of the prisoners in a basement. He also, although he cared most about her, needed to know who the others were. He needed to know why those who held her captive had taken most of the evidence and fled.

Mai stole more of the paintings than just the weird perversion of the Tree of Life. And Zuko felt he recognized two of them; they looked from his childhood. He did not want to pressure Azula, but she obviously had been part of some sick Spirit World experiment of the New Ozai society and he _needed answers_.

Azula looked at Mai, and the girl she was beside. They looked vaguely familiar, as Azula remembered her face pressed against fur and the wind against her open wounds. They had a particular tension between them that Azula could read like a book. And it certainly displeased Zuko.

Then she quickly remembered these traitors. Of course. That life felt like it was a dream and her time in the prison they keep whispering about she cannot remember, no matter how she tries. She supposed it was blocked out from the pain, or the drugs, and it would come back eventually.

"Are you okay? We thought you were dead," Zuko at last said, unable to wait for her anymore.

Azula paused and seemed to be contemplating her answer.

And then, "Did you cry when you thought I was dead?" were Azula's first coherent words in the past week. Zuko fought the resounding urge to violently shake her for treating it like a joke.

"No," Zuko replied sharply and Jun fought back laughter. He got angry so easily, even after maturing and calming his temper. No patience.

"I hoped you weren't decomposing," Mai offered flatly and Azula looked aghast. "Uh, yeah, that sounded way better in my head."

Azula sat further up and everyone tensed for a fight. Her eyes locked with Zuko's and she said, "Just imagine me, dead in some _ditch_ somewhere. Because of you."

"That would be very sad," Zuko said in a voice flat enough to rival his ex-girlfriend's. Ty Lee scowled at him, unsure why she was suddenly so _on Azula's side _just because of one kiss the princess likely did not even remember.

Azula laid back down, her bones aching, and remained silent before choosing the very eloquent words, "I want to sleep. And I want all of you to fuck off."

"I'm not leaving," Zuko said fiercely as everyone left, Ty Lee's eyes lingering longest on Azula. And Azula had no idea why she was gazing at her as if they were still together. Not after that. Never after all the betrayals.

And then Azula started to wonder why her lips tasted of paint. Earlier they tasted only of blood, salt and sourness.

"Why won't you leave?" Azula demanded, struggling to breath. She tried to hide her panic and pain, but Zuko could see it. Of course he could.

"I'm worried about you, and I'm worried about what happened to you," Zuko said earnestly and Azula turned away as fast as she could. The pout on her lips made her look like an indignant child but she did not care.

Her body felt so weak, so much weaker than it did. She could not explain it, but she had the sensation of being even worse than at the asylum, as if all of her strength truly had been ripped away, and all she had now was her words and her wit, and she would not let go of them no matter how kind Zuko pretended to be.

"Keep that to yourself. It makes you like a wimp," she whispered before trying to close her eyes again.

"You talked a lot in your sleep," Zuko said, even though her words were not much to go on. He simply knew that it would give her the impression that she had less secrecy on her side.

"Magnificent," Azula snarled, rolling her golden eyes without a care. "That isn't anything new, I hope you know. I have nothing to hide."

But she did. Her time after running into the Forgetful Valley was a journey with spirits that was not pretty. Anyone could have guessed that, because Azula's life never was a lovely story.

Zuko shifted his weight from one foot to the other in discomfort, and tried to think of the right words to say, although they eluded him completely. He had gotten better with words the more time he spent in politics, but seeing Azula after so long, and seeing her like this, a complete husk of her former self, was unnerving.

"I want you to stay here... and get better." Zuko realized belatedly that he said it too kindly, and he knew that he would pay for that.

"My body would prefer to be unimpeded by your presence as it continues to put me through excruciating pain," Azula snapped.

"I don't just mean your injuries." Zuko took a deep breath and decided not to stand down.

Azula was silent after that. She had no desire to discuss her mental state with her brother. However, she did feel relieved that he would not send her back to the asylum. So many of her dreams were decorated with over-compassionate doctors in white and light pink.

"Let me sleep," Azula said, attempting to come off as sympathetic, but her words still a cold snarl.

Zuko inhaled, exhaled, and left her.

* * *

Ty Lee sat on a patio in the living quarters of the palace, sipping liquor stirred into tea and gazing out at the gardens. Someone walked beside her and she glanced up, unsure what to say as she saw Mai.

"You look skittish," Mai remarked and Ty Lee knew it was a question.

"I kissed her. I kissed her on the mouth and I don't think she even knows I did it," Ty Lee said and Mai's eyes flickered briefly with surprise. It was a gross thing to do, but... Ty Lee... Mai just kept her lips sealed. "And she asked for me. Why did she ask for me?"

"I don't think she remembers asking for you," Mai admitted, unsure if it was consolation or not. "It's good to have you here. You make things less awkward with Zuko... And you do have a way with Azula..."

"A way of chi-blocking her," Ty Lee grumbled and Mai pursed her lips. She knew that in Ty Lee's emotional state, she would not be able to easily listen to reason. "This is so much more different than the first time I came back. This is... I just don't know, Mai. I don't know what to think! I don't know if I still love her and I...!"

She threw her arms around her friend, whom awkwardly patted Ty Lee's back. Ty Lee did not let go, and, for once, Mai did not gently pry her off.

They all needed a little comforting, even Mai would admit.

Azula in particular, but she would be the last person to ask for it.

* * *

Zuko brought Azula breakfast himself in the morning, trying to make a show of the fact that he was not just going to toss her to servants. And partially because he hoped he could get some answers. Maybe a little guilt was within him as well.

He gently set the tray beside her and he expected her to have opened her eyes. She slept lightly and he honestly was startled he was not greeted by a blast of blue fire in his face when he pushed open the door.

Silently, he surveyed her, and started to step away before he heard her mumbling in her sleep. Mumbling names he did not know, whimpers, whimpering for anyone.

His heart palpitating, he moved slightly closer to her, wondering if he should wake her from her nightmare.

And as he cautiously reached to touch her shoulder, suddenly, she seized his wrist with great force and the next thing he felt was the burning of fire and the stench of searing flesh.


	3. Resurrection

_**AN: **__Firstly, my apologies for abandoning this. I had no idea what I was doing, to be honest, and then realized I had no story. What I had written was a blank canvas for a Tyzula Redemption, but no twist, no hook, no creativity. But I had the funniest idea when I __**stopped **__thinking about it, in the middle of July, and I made sure to outline and eight million shoutouts to electric gurrl for helping me so much to get myself together and make my crazy idea make sense._

_It __**is **__a crazy idea, and probably seems out of left field given what I had promised with nothing to back it up. This is no longer a spin-off of __The Great Cherry Tongue Twist__, because that was holding me back for so long. This hopefully is a unique riff on classic after-the-Search speculation, and I'm really excited to share what I've been working on turning from an idea into a real plot with you._

* * *

**Chapter Three: **Resurrection

* * *

_**Previously...**_

_Azula laid back down, her bones aching, and remained silent before choosing the very eloquent words, "I want to sleep. And I want all of you to fuck off."_

_"I'm not leaving," Zuko said fiercely as everyone left, Ty Lee's eyes lingering longest on Azula. And Azula had no idea why she was gazing at her as if they were still __together__. Not after that. Never after all the betrayals._

_And then Azula started to wonder why her lips tasted of paint. Earlier they tasted only of blood, salt and sourness._

_"Why won't you leave?" Azula demanded, struggling to breath. She tried to hide her panic and pain, but Zuko could see it. Of course he could._

_"I'm worried about you, and I'm worried about what happened to you," Zuko said earnestly and Azula turned away as fast as she could. The pout on her lips made her look like an indignant child but she did not care._

_Her body felt so weak, so much weaker than it did. She could not explain it, but she had the sensation of being even worse than at the asylum, as if all of her strength truly had been ripped away, and all she had now was her words and her wit, and she would not let go of them no matter how kind Zuko pretended to be._

_"Keep that to yourself. It makes you like a wimp," she whispered before trying to close her eyes again._

_"You talked a lot in your sleep," Zuko said, even though her words were not much to go on. He simply knew that it would give her the impression that she had less secrecy on her side._

_"__Magnificent__," Azula snarled, rolling her golden eyes without a care. "That isn't anything __new__, I hope you know. I have nothing to hide."_

_But she did. Her time after running into the Forgetful Valley was a journey with spirits that was not pretty. Anyone could have guessed that, because Azula's life never was a lovely story. _

_Zuko shifted his weight from one foot to the other in discomfort, and tried to think of the right words to say, although they eluded him completely. He had gotten better with words the more time he spent in politics, but seeing Azula after so long, and seeing her like _this_, a complete husk of her former self, was unnerving._

_"I want you to stay here... and get better." Zuko realized belatedly that he said it too kindly, and he knew that he would pay for that._

_"My body would prefer to be unimpeded by your presence as it continues to put me through excruciating pain," Azula snapped._

_"I don't just mean your injuries." Zuko took a deep breath and decided not to stand down._

_Azula was silent after that. She had no desire to discuss her mental state with her brother. However, she did feel relieved that he would not send her back to the asylum. So many of her dreams were decorated with over-compassionate doctors in white and light pink._

_"Let me sleep," Azula said, attempting to come off as sympathetic, but her words still a cold snarl._

_Zuko inhaled, exhaled, and left her._

* * *

_Ty Lee sat on a patio in the living quarters of the palace, sipping liquor stirred into tea and gazing out at the gardens. Someone walked beside her and she glanced up, unsure what to say as she saw Mai._

_"You look skittish," Mai remarked and Ty Lee knew it was a question._

_"I kissed her. I kissed her on the mouth and I don't think she even knows I did it," Ty Lee said and Mai's eyes flickered briefly with surprise. It was a gross thing to do, but... Ty Lee... Mai just kept her lips sealed. "And she asked for __me__. Why did she ask for __me__?"_

_"I don't think she remembers asking for you," Mai admitted, unsure if it was consolation or not. "It's good to have you here. You make things less awkward with Zuko... And you do have a way with Azula..."_

_"A way of chi-blocking her," Ty Lee grumbled and Mai pursed her lips. She knew that in Ty Lee's emotional state, she would not be able to easily listen to reason. "This is so much more different than the first time I came back. This is... I just don't know, Mai. I don't know what to think! I don't know if I still love her and I...!"_

_She threw her arms around her friend, whom awkwardly patted Ty Lee's back. Ty Lee did not let go, and, for once, Mai did not gently pry her off._

_They all needed a little comforting, even Mai would admit._

_Azula in particular, but she would be the last person to ask for it._

* * *

_Zuko brought Azula breakfast himself in the morning, trying to make a show of the fact that he was not just going to toss her to servants. And partially because he hoped he could get some answers. Maybe a little guilt was within him as well._

_He gently set the tray beside her and he expected her to have opened her eyes. She slept lightly and he honestly was startled he was not greeted by a blast of blue fire in his face when he pushed open the door._

_Silently, he surveyed her, and started to step away before he heard her mumbling in her sleep. Mumbling names he did not know, whimpers, whimpering for anyone._

_His heart palpitating, he moved slightly closer to her, wondering if he should wake her from her nightmare._

_And as he cautiously reached to touch her shoulder, suddenly, she seized his wrist with great force and the next thing he felt was the burning of fire and the stench of searing flesh._

_**Now...**_

In the Spirit World, a young woman cackled at the sight of Fire Lord Zuko doing something so _stupid_.

She would be identical to the sad pathetic girl in the royal palace, if it were not for the lack of bruises, or the wan face, trembling fingers and shattered psyche. Of course, they were identical in many ways, as they were exactly the same person, save for a variety of complex matters that led to the one watching, laughing, being superior. Princess Azula's ethereal form was much more powerful and content than her shivering, pallid, brother-burning corporeal form.

It was impossible for Azula to look away, because it was a strange and uncanny thing. This was her, utterly and completely herself; the window was more of a mirror. But she was herself, and she was a better version of herself after all of the suffering, spirits and sacrifice that brought her to this cold, ethereal room.

Her weakness was intriguing from this standpoint, while it had been agonizing from inside of that body, that _bruised _body that is still technically hers. From the outside looking in, the poor little insane Princess Azula was a pitiful yet... inexplicably winsome creature. That was intended, she believed; that was the point, and watching herself now was a ridiculous waste of her time.

Time was a finite resource and pouring it into _this _narcissistic pastime...

"You gain things from doing this," a spectral voice told her from behind and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, it isn't as if you expected her to ask for that girl. And you must be very interested in just how far Fire Lord Zuko would go to try to save you."

Azula looked away. "No. Well, to a certain degree I _am _interested. But I made the right decision when it was offered to me, and..."

Her lips part in shock and revulsion at how she misspoke. She did not say things like that; she did not reveal weakness. Was it a malfunction? Did they fail somehow or not sever a sinew that could ruin all of this?

"And you did not want to have any doubts," the shadow behind her replied.

She clenched her jaw and thought her answer through the way she was supposed to. The way she was _allowed _to when she volunteered to do this. "I don't. It would be ridiculous for me to. Don't cut the connection; I'm curious and I can do as I please."

There. It worked, didn't it? She sounded like herself.

And, like herself, she was obeyed, instead of pitied or put in a straitjacket.

That was the intention. That was what she gained.

That was why Azula truly needed to stop looking into mirrors. Because she never did like what she saw.

* * *

Zuko hissed through his teeth in pain as he pulled away from Azula, nearly knocking her from the bed. She felt her heart pounding as he again realized his sister. It was not even long ago, and her old life felt as much like just a dream to him as it did to her.

She blinked, and tried to catch her breath, and looked up at him. "Don't... _do that_. You can't just _sneak up on _people like that."

He rubbed his burn. "I'll be fine. Okay, I'll be fine."

"I know you will," Azula snapped, rubbing her arm. "What do you even want?"

"I..." He looked at the breakfast that was now splattered all over the floor. "I will bring you breakfast in ten minutes. Can you get up?"

Azula thought it was more out of curiosity than of his need, but she had the curiosity as well. Her body was telling her she was tired, and so she remained lying down, but it was worth a try. She moved and tried, and sat up, and willed herself, and then nearly screamed from the horror.

Just exhaustion. Just the pain. She lay back down. "I'm tired and you bore me. Tell me why you're here."

He bought it. Azula tried to hide her fears.

"Right now I want you to look at some of the paintings Mai took from the place you were held prisoner. Two of them look really familiar to me."

Azula paused and thought about that for a moment. She considered how it could perhaps give her the upper hand, but it didn't offer her any advantage, and so she sighed and held out her hand expectantly. Zuko passed the parchment to her and she instantly recognized the drawings.

Because they were hers.

She had a sudden vivid memory that was not moving like those of her childhood, or the asylum. It was frozen, like the pictures in front of her. She was leaning against a cold wall, feeling strongly nauseated and there was the scent of blood in the air.

Azula kept it to herself as she exhaled the memory of the dank basement, and began to look at the loose drawings. They were made by talented hands, but not trained ones. Her muscles were toned for combat, lightning, not the smooth lines of ink.

"I've drawn these before, but clearly I got better as I got older. Expert detective work, ZuZu," she said as he was still rubbing his burn. "So, I made some drawings. It doesn't matter. At least you found me alive, at least you found me with my face..."

She made an odd expression that made Zuko uneasy.

"What?" he asked as he tried to take away the unnerving drawings and she pulled them out of his grasp.

"Well, you never know who would want to be masquerading as me." Azula then shrugged as she looked at her bruised limbs and could feel her headache and her bones aching. _No one would, not anymore_. "Being a dead princess, well..."

Zuko shook his head. "You're you."

"If you say so."

He cocked an eyebrow. "_You're you_."

* * *

"I quite like being served by the Fire Lord," Azula purred from her bed as Zuko returned with her breakfast. "And that was around twelve minutes; you are disgustingly late."

He held his tongue, because he was mature now, and because he needed her cooperation. She would push his limits, but Azula needed him more, and she was tactical, smart and was not going to do anything more than gloat until she got bored.

"Just eat and then we can talk about what happened after you left," Zuko said and Azula felt a chill and a vibration that she thought that no one noticed.

Azula looked at the food and felt repulsed.

"This is disgusting." She nudged it aside. "I'll talk to you."

Zuko sighed. "No. Eat, please."

"You're not a very good negotiator, are you?"

"I don't want you to die."

"No, you just want to keep me alive to reassure yourself that your hands are completely clean."

"What does that?" Zuko growled and Azula smirked at how he nearly sounded like their father.

"You are so merciful, to spare your little sister like that. How loving of you, to track her down from the basement she was being tortured in and bring her breakfast in her cozy little prison cell. You have erased all of your anger issues because you don't act out your revenge on me." Azula leaned back and Zuko clenched his jaw.

"I'm doing what's best for you," he said and Azula shook her sore head at how much he believed that. "Everyone is. Except maybe yourself."

Zuko left her and she lay back and drifted to sleep without wanting to.

* * *

Zuko found Mai making tea and picking a blemish out of the stone counter with a blade. She was who he was looking for, and he was glad she was alone, and not with Ty Lee or Jun.

"Mai," Zuko said and she looked up at him wordlessly.

"Yeah?" she replied and he was not sure what to make of it. Their relationship was long, long gone, but he still felt uncomfortable in ways he knew he should not. He loved Suki, Mai loved her freedom, and that was that. Azula wanted Mai and Ty Lee for whatever reason, and Zuko wanted Azula to be happy (_okay_, maybe he just wanted Azula to cooperate).

"Can you tell me more about where you and Jun found Azula?" he asked ad Mai slowly nodded.

She still felt chills about it and what she saw there. Finding Azula was, of course, worth it, even if she now was not sure what they were supposed to do. There clearly was something fucked up going on involving the New Ozai Society, and it looked much more gruesome than the normal political extremist nonsense.

"It was weird, and smelled bad, and it was filled with creepy Spirit World junk..."

_Mai and Jun walked inside and were immediately struck by the repugnant stench. It was hastily covered up by strong cologne, a scent that Mai recognized. Thankfully, it was not her father's or that of anyone too close to her or her family. _

_ But it was popular among the wealthy men that she had met in her life. She had a hunch that there would be clues to Azula here, and Jun answered Mai's question before she could ask it._

_ "Nyla can smell through this. Relax."_

_ They said no more as they broke apart and began trying to figure out what was inside. Mai saw paintings on every wall. Most of them were normal, popular landscape art and portraits. But some were much more disturbing. There was art that clearly seemed distorted and unlike any Mai had seen for sale or in a boring museum._

_ One painting was most fascinating to Mai_. _It looked like the Tree of Life, a symbol many people had in their homes, especially those who wanted children or had relatives away at war. But it was gnarled and the landscape around it shady and disgusting._

_ Mai took it and Jun smirked at her._

_ "Stealing, are we?" she asked mockingly._

_ "Taking evidence," Mai said before striding into the more lived in section of the house. They passed multiple symbols of the New Ozai Society, and things Mai recognized as belonging to those jerks. Yes, this clearly was some creepy operation of those rich freaks who wanted to kill Zuko._

_ And there were what looked like sketches of madmen tacked up on the walls, unlike the clean, framed and expensive paintings around them. The shelves had books and scrolls, all old but held together neatly. The curios that Mai focused most on were the ones that looked... mystical. They were abnormal._

_ Mai found herself drawn most to a very strange and creepy centerpiece that was in the middle of a shelf of assorted necklaces, spoils of war and snuffed out candles dedicated to different, forgotten spirits and deities._

_ The masks in the next rooms gave her worse chills than when she first walked in. They were not all of people, but they definitely felt like they were all watching her. She kept her weapon in her sweaty palm, ready for action as she tried to keep her gaze on each lifeless face made of plaster._

_ They went into the basement after Mai picked the lock. It was where they were most reluctant to go, but they went there anyway._

_ It was made to hold prisoners, despite the fancy furniture for entertaining guests stacked against the walls. There were bloodstains and restraints, places to hold them down. It was all sickening, and there was clear evidence that they had gotten up and left, and burned most of their records._

_ Mai and Jun were about to leave when they heard a gasping for breath._

_ When they walked to it, they saw the crumbled, broken and bruised Azula lying there, handcuffed to the cement walls. Mai fought back puke in her throat, not wanting Jun to see her so weak._

"That's it," Mai said. The art was new information for Zuko, but she had described that the house was creepy, deserted and filled with Spirit World themed stuff multiple times. "She's okay now. Isn't that all you care about?"

Zuko sighed. "Of course it is, Mai. Of course it is."

"But, yeah, I do think you probably have something to worry about," she said calmly. "They were obviously doing something more freaky than usual there. More freaky than anything by Fire Nation standards."

"Maybe it was just one sicko," Zuko said and Mai shrugged.

"Yeah. Maybe that one sicko was Azula. Who knows? I'm going out for drinks with Jun now, and since I'm sticking around, I'll help with whatever you need to deal with this problem," Mai said, before standing up and leaving.

Zuko frowned. That was why he missed her, he knew. Because she was so strong. Because she did not see him as Fire Lord, and because she was unafraid.

Suki was like that too, and Zuko knew it. He and Suki had become close, and what they had was very important to him. Zuko knew that adolescent crushes were not supposed to last, but it was still there. Still lingering, a little bit inside of him.

* * *

For the entire morning, Ty Lee had been trying to go back to sleep. She could not stop waking up, because the guilt inside of her was so deep and complicated. There was no easy way to liberate herself from it, and she felt so sick.

Azula was still in her room, recovering. Or being held captive, as Ty Lee did not want to admit.

She gathered up her courage, and walked into Azula's room to find princess resting. Azula could not do anything _but _rest, it was the only thing that her brilliant mind could focus on, and she hated herself for it. She just wanted sleep, and it was _all _she wanted.

She should be thinking about escape, or empires or _anything other than how much she wants sleep_. Her body frustrated her and it frustrated her that she felt a growing, intensifying heat when she saw a girl who stole a kiss from her walk inside. There was a taste for the long gone that had been awakened in Azula, and the princess did not know what to make of it.

Ty Lee cut directly to the chase, even though it made her nervous.

"I'm sorry for kissing you," Ty Lee whispered as she looked at Azula and played with the hem of her new red skirt. It looked weird on her, but not as weird as the green, which the trembling and feverish Azula was thankful for.

"I am sure you are. You do have such issues with guilt," Azula purred, rolling her eyes and parting her lips. She was able to do _that_, at least. She was capable of being cold even though she wanted the warmth of her blankets and for the pulsing of her bruises and sting of her cuts to stop.

Ty Lee walked a little closer, feeling uncertain. "Zuko said you didn't want to get up?"

Azula clenched her jaw. Good. She hoped he had no clue that she was incapable of even walking, or at least that he was not _blabbing _to his little crew of helpful traitors.

"I don't." Azula was crisp, clear and to the point. It felt good, it felt like a rush of power, despite how much her body felt like a weight sinking her further and further into the mattress.

Ty Lee looked at her. "I'm glad you asked for me."

"I have no idea why I did," Azula said and Ty Lee sighed.

"Yeah, but you did." Maybe neither of them could argue with that. Ty Lee smiled and Azula stared back. "I want to find out why. I don't... I don't care about whatever Zuko is doing. But I do have my own selfish motives. I wanna know why I was the first and only thing you asked for."

"It's because you're so special," Azula said, and the words exhausted her. The anger at herself was even stronger than how annoyed she was at Ty Lee's self-centered obsession. "We never had real feelings. Our relationship never progressed very far, and that is that."

Ty Lee rubbed the tips of her fingers together and tried to think of an excuse other than her curiosity. Other than the kiss and her feelings, her complicated feelings.

"Maybe I had something to do with something."

"How specific," Azula spat.

"No, I..." Ty Lee stopped and thought again. "What if you were doing something important, and Mai and Jun just have no idea what they really saw. Maybe you called me for that reason."

Azula had nothing to say to that, but she did like the idea of how hopeful Ty Lee was about it.

"I..." Azula pretended to be caught off guard, and she blinked a few times. "Maybe. You should stick around, either way."

Ty Lee nodded, and she was just there. Silently, there, and Azula tried to keep focused on the traitor, but could not help but fall back to sleep.

* * *

In the Spirit World, Azula turned away from the mirror and rolled her eyes. It was madly frustrating to watch herself, because she could feel the phantom sensation of being trapped. The prison was not the pathetic one Zuko tried to build, that was easy to escape and easier to exploit.

The prison was her body, and Azula through the mirror had figured that out quickly.

Her decision was right. Yes, it was. She walked up the distorted stairs without, and looked out over the Realm of Koh. There was such a strong desire in her that she shared with the half of her that was holding her back from greatness; she wanted resurrection, she wanted closure and she wanted _more._

Now she had that, and she refused to squander it regardless of the cost.

She had a variety of ideas of what to do with what she worked for, most of them encouraged and begged for by the New Ozai Society. But, to be honest, she just used their blind ambition and ridiculous loyalty, and their copious resources to get what she needed.

Azula owed them nothing, despite their requests. She contemplated using her potential power to do something for her father, but that stemmed mostly from making him want to kneel before her and beg for it. Which would come, in due time.

"Your power is not quite there," said the ghost and Azula just examined her hands. They were of a strange consistency here, one that she could not compare to anything she had ever felt before. "There was less of you than there is of her."

"That's absurd," Azula snapped before realizing that this shadow was a primordial being who could end her. And then she decided she did not _care _and continued in her royal tone. "This is who I am and this is who I am destined to be. To say that girl I'm watching to entertain myself while I recover enough to _do something _exists more than I do... I may be... whatever I am, but my sole regret was being defeated by my own body."

"Oh yes?" The shadow sounded amused.

"Look at her. Look at her being so sore and shaking. Look at her waking up screaming because her _brain snapped_. Look at me kissing that traitor because of my body's own weak urges! I am more than that." Azula finished coldly, having not noticed the way her voice cracked, the way she referred to her corporeal self as _me_, and she drifted and tested the limits of where her form was strong enough to go before she had to turn back.

Training, preparations, _conniving _and forcing herself to succeed. Azula was good at those things, and those things were all that mattered now.

* * *

Zuko enjoyed being outside under the crescent moon. He was alone, for a while, until he heard footsteps behind him.

"I brought you some tea," Suki said in the cold nighttime chill, and Zuko nodded at her. She handed it to him and he was grateful, even though he knew the look in her eyes.

"You didn't just bring me tea, did you?" Zuko asked and Suki smiled. He knew her too well.

"No. Talking business, I want to say that it's really unfortunate that Mai and Jun went out to a bar when we need to figure out what they actually saw, because I can't imagine Azula letting herself get tortured. I thought maybe she couldn't bend, but," Suki began before gesturing to the half-healed burn on his arm.

"And not talking business?" Zuko asked.

"I am experiencing some strange new feelings," she said as she walked closer to him, a devious smile on her lips. He liked it, even if he did not think anything in the world could lighten his spirits. "I feel guilty that I wanted her to be a corpse. I really did. But I'm glad you found her, because... Okay, I really thought dead would be better closure for everybody."

Zuko stopped her just with the look on his face. "It's fine for you to think that. I understand it. And I'm pretty sure you might be rethinking your guilt once she starts getting better."

"She's..." Suki frowns. "She's, I feel guilty for wanting her to be a corpse, because... do you ever feel like maybe people _do _get what they wish for but in an awful way?"

"Uhh." Zuko nodded. He had that exact thought on more than one occasion. Always in ways to explain his mother. Always.

"When I was young, there was a disease on my island that killed off a lot of the older warriors and a lot of families. That's why I was in charge. I had hoped and prayed for anything to happen to give me a chance, but I was last in my class despite how hard I trained." Suki swallowed, uncertain how she was telling someone this. "I became first in my class after the outbreak. I dedicated myself so much to make up for how much I felt like it was my wish that did that."

Zuko listened, and Suki looked up at him.

"Well, I think that maybe you're some kind of divine being that can create plagues and make my sister into a living corpse. If so, I'm glad I'm on your good side."

* * *

Two girls were lakeside, away from the loud barbeque restaurant and bar they escaped, their sweat dried by the cold breeze.

"So, how far would you go to impress me, kitten?" Jun asked.

"I think you have that the other way around," Mai said with dispassionate confidence that was like cold fire.

"I think I don't. I think that you should jump into that freezing water."

"I hate water."

"You hate everything."

"I know."

"I think you should jump in. And I think you will, because if you do, I'll stop calling you kitten."

"My parents are politicians and my best friend was Azula. It's so sad and pathetic that you think you're better at conning people than them. Or that I would even care about what you called me if you were going to stop that."

"You're gullible enough to be having drinks lakeside with me, kitten."

* * *

While everyone else was out in the star-studded night, Azula was trapped inside.

Her body wanted a number of things, and she could not understand what had made them suddenly so important in her mind.

They made so little sense. And they were so extremely frustrating. Her body was tired, and her body was ill. But her body did not want her to eat, and refused to let her. Her body wanted her to leer at a traitor, and she could not help but comply. Her body wanted to cry when no one was around, and her body would claw and rip at its own skin when she woke up from nightmares that her mind thought were real.

Nightmares her body reacted to as if they _were _real.

But that night, she had a dream that her body reacted to. And it was not a nightmare, not a nightmare about demons from her past that were just people. It was a dream that was worse than a nightmare, because it left her feeling ravenously wet and craving.

Azula had never felt like that before. She had such base desires, yes, but they were not ones she ever invited in, and they were ones she quelled before they joined her in her dreams.

Princess Azula did not let herself dream of that kiss Ty Lee planted on her lips turning into Azula grabbing Ty Lee by the bottom of her shirt and pulling their bodies together, and it escalating from there into heated, dirty things.

No, Azula did not know what to think, but she felt hot, sweaty and a spite for herself.

She sat up and immediately felt dizzy. The numbness in her legs had to do with her refusal to eat, she knew, but she was going to fight against it. She was going to fight against the atrophy of being bound as a prisoner, and then she was going to hunt down and kill everyone who ever laid a finger on her.

Azula set her hands on the mattress and tried to stand, but her body made her fall.

It sickened her, while the warm dream stayed stubbornly in her thighs.

* * *

_**AN: **__So, when I said out of left field, I really meant it. I did, in my fic, have a basis for a Spirit World interference of some kind, base Tyzula Redemption; it was a blank canvas with a some tracing already on it. Anyway, I've always wondered what pre-breakdown Azula would think of Tyzula Redemption, and so I have a way to write it._

_And a plot to go along with it. But no spoilers :D._


End file.
